What makes FRC a sport?

[AustinLoPiccolo]

I was talking with a friend about sports today and when I brought up how FRC is a sport, he disagreed. He explained that because we aren't required to be athletic and endure physical punishement like in lacrosse, football, soccer and other physical enduring sports that you can't say FRC is a sport. This argument is coming from someone who has never experienced the FRC and FIRST environment. I want to know from you what makes FRC and/or FIRST a sport.

[EricLeifermann]

I would say FIRST is more of a sport of the mind than an actual sport. I have been very active in both physical sports(soccer, football, basketball, etc.) and sports of the mind(FIRST, poker, chess, etc.).

While I love FIRST it doesn't compare to a physical sport in the type of adrenaline you get when competing. Now I'm not saying you/I don't get pumped up and excited and nervous and all that comes with competing but its not the same as working up a sweat and knocking down a game winning 3 pointer or something like that.

FIRST is a sport its just a different form of a sport.

[EricH]

If poker is a sport (look, it's shown on both ESPN and FSN), then robotics, where you lift weights (robot parts) and carry them, and where you throw things to try to hit targets, is a sport.

Or, to put it another way: It's a sport where you build your own athlete.

[kws4000]

Originally Posted by EricH

If poker is a sport (look, it's shown on both ESPN and FSN)


Or, to put it another way: It's a sport where you build your own athlete.

First Statement = SERIOUSLY?

Second statement = QUOTABLE!

[EricH]

Originally Posted by kws4000

First Statement = SERIOUSLY?

Yes, seriously. Two sports networks show poker games. There might be more I'm not aware of.

Oh, and I forgot: WAYYY back in the day, ESPN showed the FIRST Robotics Competition Nationals. Back in the 90's, or so I hear.

[Taylor]

This.

[gegozi]

Originally Posted by EricH

Oh, and I forgot: WAYYY back in the day, ESPN showed the FIRST Robotics Competition Nationals. Back in the 90's, or so I hear.

1996. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8N6lnle1fc

I wish ESPN would do this in more recent years.

EDIT: We should petition ESPN to do this.

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by gegozi

1996. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8N6lnle1fc

I wish ESPN would do this in more recent years.

EDIT: We should petition ESPN to do this.

There are much better channels with wider audiences now. lets think bigger.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by MikLast

There are much better channels with wider audiences now. lets think bigger.

I somewhat agree with this... The problem with getting airtime is looking at what that channel is NOT playing during that time as a result. Channels With wider audiences would probably see too much of FIRST as a ratings hit against their normal programming. The nice thing about ESPN in late April is that there isn't too much going on - March Madness is over, Baseball hasn't started yet, football is a distant dream, hockey is finished. It makes for some available airtime.

However, with the inclusion of Disney Imagineering helping with the game design this year, I could see a broadcast happening on Disney affiliates, and there are a lot of them! How cool would it be to have:

FLL Jr on the Disney Junior or ABC Kids channel
FLL on the Disney Channel
FTC on ABC Family
FRC on ABC or ESPN

All channels owned by Disney... And all with target audiences in the same age range our programs target. Building a close relationship with Disney could let us take over the airwaves for a day or two during champs! I'd love to see it happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Paul Copioli]

Some of you have asked, "why does it matter?".

While it doesn't matter to me as I participate in both traditional sports (swimming & golf) and robotics (FRC and VEX IQ as a coach), it does matter to some State organizations.

In Texas, for example, UIL has two distinct classifications: UIL Athletics and UIL Academics. FRC is currently considered an Academic UIL activity and not a sport, as some may think.

Some of us believe it should be part of UIL Athletics, but the State disagreed.

This is but one example. There could be more.

[pmangels17]

Originally Posted by MikLast

There are much better channels with wider audiences now. lets think bigger.

I have no actual idea of what ESPN's motives were to broadcast Nationals (yes, Nationals) back in the day, but I'd wager it has to do with:
1. ESPN still trying to solidify its position as a major network contender
2. ESPN trying to expand to a variety of programming
3. Disney owning ESPN, and showing a massive event at EPCOT (a Disney Theme Park), as a way to promote themselves as well as FIRST


We should push for more TV coverage for FIRST, that is not an unrealistic goal. However, we need to somehow make it as marketable and profitable for companies as possible to show us on TV in order for that to happen. Battlebots proved that a show about violent robots can hold people's attention for weeks at a time, we should be able to keep the public excited for all of Championship Weekend. As long as the GDC keeps churning out games that are exciting to watch, challenging to design for and play, and easy to follow (games like Rebound Rumble and Ultimate Ascent), these goals are within reach. I think the medieval theming and Team Standards this year will help tie everything in together for more people as well, which is another step towards marketability.

[pmangels17]

I should add also that if we can get FIRST to be on TV, that might go a long way towards convincing schools that FRC is indeed a sport, or at least something worth as much investment and promotion as sports get, which I think is the main reason we want FRC to be seen as a sport in the first place.

[JoshWilson]

FRC is a sport, because we put in just as much time and energy, if not more, than everyone else, plus it's exciting to watch and participate in.
I think it would be great if we could get FRC on public television. It would help convince more schools to have teams, would let more people become interested in it, and would promote STEM, which is one of FIRST's goals.
People liked Battlebots, and if the GDC continues to make games exciting and interesting, I think it could really attract an audience. Just as long as there isn't any more games like recycle rush, because that wasn't to exciting.

The only problem I see however,is deciding which events to show, unless they do it by region.

Also, shoutout to gegozi for re-awaking the thread

[Hgree56]

I saw this post start to get more activity.

At my high school, our team has pushed for us to be considered a sport like the soccer teams, football team, or swim team. We considered these three teams to be our most hard working teams here. We compared ourselves to all three teams in multiple ways but my personal favorite was over all time each student spends for that sport during a 6 week period (6 weeks=goals).

The boy's soccer team (which I was a member of) had 3 to 5 practices a week plus games. We estimated roughly 12 to 14 hours spent with the soccer team. Football was around 16 to 18. Swim was about 25 hours a week.
Our schedule had our robotics students spending close to 21 hours a week over 6 weeks with the team.

After presenting this to our school's Principle, he got some of the "clubs" to now be considered "Sports of the Mind." Robotics led the way. Speech, Science Olympiad, and Spell Bowl are now all also Sports of the Mind here.

We aren't a sport, but we aren't a club. We're a team that builds robots and competes against other schools across our state and the world. That's all that matters to us.

[Drakxii]

It's a team based athletic* competition so it's a sport in my mind.

*Human players, transporting the bot and fixing/building the bot.